Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh in USA's T20I squad against Canada; Unmukt left out

HOUSTON: Former New Zealand fast-bowling all-rounder Corey Anderson has been included in USA’s 15-man squad for the five-match T20I series against Canada, set to be held from April 7.

Apart from Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Milind Kumar, Andries Gous, Shadley Van Schalkwyk and Nitish Kumar are the other fresh faces in the USA squad which is now building up to prepare for the Men’s T20 World Cup, where it’s the co-host alongside West Indies from June 1.

Anderson last played for New Zealand in 2018, and is now eligible to play for the USA after migrating to the country during the announcement of Major League Cricket (MLC). Since his move to USA, Anderson has amassed 900 runs in 28 innings at a strike rate of 146 in Minor League Cricket (MiLC), the developmental league for Major League Cricket (MLC), whose inaugural edition was held last year.

Harmeet, the former India U19 left-arm spinner, captained Seattle Thunderbolts to the MiLC trophy in 2022 and was picked by Seattle Orcas in 2023 MLC. Milind, the former RCB batter who turned out for Delhi and Sikkim in domestic cricket, finds himself in the squad after a good domestic run.

Gous and Van Schalkwyk, who migrated to USA from South Africa, have been rewarded for being consistent in the domestic circuit. Nitish Kumar, the former Canada captain, is set to make a return to international cricket against his former side after crossing over to USA in 2021.

Unmukt Chand, the former U19 World Cup-winning captain for India, is a notable omission from the USA squad captained by Monank Patel and Aaron Jones being the vice-captain, despite him being the leading run-scorer in MiLC history since its inception in 2021

"With the ICC T20 World Cup looming, this series holds immense significance for our team. We have some new players coming into the squad, and these games will help us get the right combinations and prepare well for the World Cup," said Monank.

The T20I matches between USA and Canada are scheduled to take place from April 7-13 at the Prairie View Cricket Complex (PVCC), in Houston, Texas. The USA team is set to commence its preparation at PVCC from April 1.

USA squad: Monank Patel (captain), Aaron Jones (VC), Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Gajanand Singh, Harmeet Singh, Jessy Singh, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Nitish Kumar, Noshtush Kenjige, Saurabh Netravalkar, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Steven Taylor, Usman Rafiq.

Reserve players – Juanoy Drysdale, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Shayan Jahangir.